Communication plays an integral role in the success of an organization because it ensures that information is relayed between management and employees. Communication acts as a vehicle via which subordinates and leaders create and sustain beneficial exchanges. Northouse (2004) pointed out that “communication is the vehicle through which leaders and subordinates create, nurture, and maintain useful exchanges. Effective leadership occurs when communication is . . characterized by mutual trust, respect, and dedication (p. 155). Thus, an open and effective communication process plays a major role in ensuring that information is relayed from one end to another via a medium of exchange. The purpose of this paper is to provide a comparison and contrast of two communication techniques that are applied to improve employee trust and engagement in the workplace. In addition, the significance of efficient communication in an organization is discussed. The two types of techniques explored in this
Role of Effective Communication
Workplaces require effective relationships among departments, colleagues, and managers to be successful. The role of effective communication in organizations strengthens relationships and guarantees togetherness and moving in the same direction. Subsequently, a positive working environment is created that improves employee motivation and organizational productivity significantly. According to the former CEO of Maritime Life, Bill Black, communication is essential in an organization because it allows the leader to communicate strategic issues at the corporate level and to create a culture of trust between key stakeholders (Beslin, Reddin, & Reddin, 2004). A culture of trust promotes corporate transparency and accountability, which are two major attributes of successful organizations. For example, workshops can empower employees and listen to their issues, while on-site meetings promote direct communication (Skidmore-Williams, 2013). Subsequently, these techniques of communication when used motivate employees who become more committed and engaged in the workplace. Strong internal communication builds trust and commitment with employees, and this subsequently results into employee engagement. In addition, internal communication is important to organizations because the employees trust managers and leaders, to the extent of demonstrating their transparency, honesty, support, genuine caring, and willingness to listen (Mishra, Boynton, & Mishra, 2014).
Effective Communication and Improved Employee’s Trust and Engagement
There is a closer link between effective communication and improved employee trust and engagement. Open communication results in the sharing of vital information with internal stakeholders, including employees, and this can build commitments and trust with the employees (Mishra et al., 2014). Subsequently, the employees become more engaged and committed to achieve the goals of the organizations when workshops are held to empower employees. Quirke (2008) established that the role played by internal communication is to connect between different players in an organization and to offer employees the information they require to execute their duties. When employees receive the right information from their co-workers and supervisors in a timely, and accurate manner they are motivated to be committed. As a result, trust is enhanced between employees and managers leading to greater employee engagement within the organization (Thomas, Zolin, & Hartman, 2009). Organizations use communication to create strong relationships between managers, supervisors, and employees, which promotes trust. This is because trust is founded by strong relationships between entities such as an employer and employee. Workshops promote collaboration and trust because employees and managers engage during sessions.
Types of Communication Techniques
There are numerous types of effective communication techniques that are adopted by organizations to promote trust and engagement. Examples include on-site meetings, employee surveys, workshops, and structured interviews. The two selected for this paper are on-site meetings and workshops. Mishra et al. (2014) contended that meetings entail verbal and face-to-face communication whereby a manager can directly communicate with employees and provide the required information in a timely and accurate manner. According to Skidmore-Williams (2013), meetings allow employees to voice their opinions openly and freely in a manner in which makes the employees feel appreciated and recognized. Subsequently, the employees feel that they are treated as peers rather than employees, thus creating a form of trust. In addition, the employees when allowed to participate in teamwork feel engaged. Thus, effective communication via on-site communication could be used to ensure trust and engagement. Engaged employees are committed and proactive to high-quality performance standards and this compels such employees to strive for excellent work (Skidmore-Williams, 2013). Top talent could be motivated on such occasions when meetings are carried out during weekly meetings. In a study by Mishra et al.(2014), it was established that during small and one-on-one meetings, information was effectively passed to the employees. In such situations, trust creates a closer relationship that results in honesty and transparency. The employee then becomes motivated, committed, and engaged in the workplace.
Workshops can be used by the management of an organization to communicate with employees. In a study conducted by Skidmore-Williams (2013), one of the organizers contended that managers were required to use “the workshop as an opportunity to improve a little bit each day at this crucial component of our craft, and to teach their team members on the principles of good communication" (p. 54). In this case, a workshop as a technique of communication was used at the Army Audit Agency to improve communication in teams and this improved the skills of the managers. Under this situation, the management applied workshops to listen to the concerns of its employees, and subsequently take meaningful steps to address the issues. Given that employee engagement is an emotional and intellectual commitment by employees to an organization, listening to their concerns during workshops then promotes engagement (Zajkowska, 2012). In addition, the employees’ passion for work is improved, and trust is promoted in the long run. Trusted two-way communication between employees and organizations ensures that concerns raised through workshops are solved (Zajkowska, 2012). Timely and effective communication, delivered via workshops provides the leadership the chance to demonstrate empathy, honesty, and a strategic plan, and this instills trust in the employees. Mishra et al. (2014) contended that managers and employees can possess facts needed and information that not only retains but also motivates top talent.
Conclusion
Effective communication plays a major role in driving employee engagement and trust. The two communication techniques discussed are on-site meetings and workshops to promote employees' trust and engagement. For example, on-site meetings allow management to communicate directly with employees and listen to them. This creates trust and engagement among the employees in the workplace. On the other hand, workshops allow employees to air their concerns, which when addressed promote trust and employees’ engagement. Workshops allow managers to coach team members on good communication, and when replicated on employees, this could create trust and engagement.
References
Beslin, B., and Reddin, C. (2004). How Leaders Can Communicate to Build Trust, Ivey Business Journal, 1–4.
Mishra1, K., Boynton, L., and Mishra, A. (2014). Driving Employee Engagement: The Expanded Role of Internal Communications. International Journal of Business Communication, 51(2), 83–202.
Northouse, P. G. (2004). Leadership: Theory and Practice (3rd edition). Sage. Thousand Oaks, California.
Quirke B. (2008). Making connections: Using internal communication to translate strategy into action. Burlington, Vermont: Gower
Skidmore-Williams, Katherine (2013). Communication serves as the cornerstone for creating a great environment to work. The Public Manager, 52–56.
Thomas G. F., Zolin R., & Hartman J. L. (2009). 'The importance of communication in building trust and its impact on employee engagement'. Journal of Business Communication, 46(3), 287–310.
Zajkowska M. (2012). Employee engagement: Improving it through Internal Communication. Human Resource Management and Ergonomics, VI(2), 104–117.
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